Choice
by Shikonaurum
Summary: After a terrible accident, Jenna is faced with a choice- to choose who lives and dies, between the dearest to her. So what would happen if the person she left for dead came back? Old wounds from the scars of choice are reopened, probably never to heal...
1. Fog

Finally getting to a text that I can live with, I have concluded: This computer is turning into a piece of crap. At least I'm not using my upstairs computer, the Windows 95… Though 98 hardly seems any better. A little burst of inspiration came across me when writing this. I have considered every pairing there is possible, only one seems right. Mudshippers, forgive me for this.

Warnings: Isaac/Jenna. Slight Mia/Isaac in later chapters. Character death.

An hour later: Sadly, this story won't write itself, so I must be put through the pains of typing.

Four months later: FINALLY EDITED!

Fog hung thickly in the air, enshrouding everything in a white mist, nearly impenetrable to see through. It was like the sky had descended only upon them for this day, with their heads in the clouds. Quite literally. It was colder than normal for a day like this, only a few days into autumn. You could basically sense the chill in the air, vibrating between the insides of the body and body heat. There weren't many places that the cold spared, even in the warmness of Picard's Lemurian boat's cabin.

The boat rocked gently, back and forth, in no discernable location. The fog, impenetrable to see through, also caused a problem in seeing anything. Thus, Felix's eyesight was provided a challenge as he squinted at a map, turning it every which way.

Felix growled a few curses here and there, shivering as he looked for some discernable landmark. His breath froze as he swore, adding to the ice crystals. His body felt the heat evaporate quickly from his body, until it was far out of reach. The Venus Adept tried many ways to keep himself warm, although none prevailed in the end. He considered waking Jenna, or at least one of her Djinn to keep himself warm, but thought better of it. Even if he was awake half the night, keeping the boat afloat in the waves, he had enough decency to let the others sleep. At least for a few minutes more, before his patience snapped and he yelled for the others to help him.

Felix groaned, deciding that if it were up to him he'd never see another boat in his life after his 'quest to save the world' was through. The others couldn't see why Felix seemed to loathe boats with such contempt. After all, they weren't the ones steering the whole time. They just enjoyed the lapping of the waves, the violent rocking of the boat in storms, and the unexpected adventures one would face on the boat. They never had to stand outside in the rain to float the boat during the storm, being hit with rain droplets that may as well be golf balls. They never had to stand in front of the wheel in calm days where he's much rather be relaxing, just as the others were. The Venus Adept suddenly became aware that such complaints made him sound very vain and jealous, and quickly tried to push them out of his mind.

"I need an adventure," Felix muttered, forgetting that he was sick of such adventures. "I need something to spice up my life today- it's much too… annoying when it's calm." Felix searched for the right words. He seemed to always fret over what words go where, even when he was just talking to himself.

"I know." Isaac's voice seemed muffled in such a fog, as he emerged from the cabin. Felix jumped, startled, slightly shaking the boat. He wasn't aware that he was talking so loudly, or that Isaac had such good hearing. "Life on this ship is a little boring, isn't it?" Isaac gave a soft smile, and then went into the cabin again. Isaac, after stepping out for a moment, and deciding that it was too cold, jumped back into the cabin. Felix sighed. There was no one that could stand this weather for long. A creak heard ten minutes later signified that someone came back, and that Picard's cabin door needed to be oiled again. As Isaac returned, Felix saw that he was dressed warmly and for the weather- something Felix could never do, especially while captaining a ship that wasn't his.

"It's kind of cold out, don't you think?" Isaac asked, walking over to where Felix was trying to focus on steering the ship. Felix glared at him as they met eyes, hard hazel eyes meeting a dreamy accented blue colored pair of eyes. Isaac finally broke away from eye contact, shrugging. "I'm sorry if you want to kill me for speaking my mind. I really do apologize. However, I'm not a fan of crazy people catching their death of the cold."

"Apology accepted," Felix growled. "But please, Isaac. Don't state the obvious when I'm irritable enough on my own." His voice softened a little, as he went back to focusing on steering the ship- although there was no point in steering in the fog.

Isaac sensed that the topic was closed, so he stared at where Felix was staring. It's an instinct of humans to think that if you stare at a place long enough, no matter how clouded over it is, you can eventually see it. So they stared and stared at the fog, but the fog didn't pass away or lessen up. In fact, it seemed to cloud over even more, until the air felt thick to breathe in.

"Can you drown in this mist?" Felix asked, feeling the dampness of the air form water droplets on his skin. "I breathe in, and instead of air, I get this foggy, damp, water."

Isaac, surveying the fog that gave him a view of white, sank into deep thought. Even with Felix standing right next to him, the older Venus Adept seemed a clouded figure. "This fog…" He said slowly, contemplating every word. "It doesn't seem natural."

Felix rolled his eyes. "Nothing we encounter is natural. Me living through the boulder, surviving drowning twice, and my parents left unscathed in unnatural. Mercury Adepts in a long lost civilization reemerging claiming they have insanely long life isn't natural. Heck, us adepts aren't natural in this world anymore." Felix shrugged. "Not that it matters. When this journey of ours is over, I'm probably never going to leave Vale again. I don't care if it's going to be dull after all we've been through, I'm just never going to leave and go on anymore of these crazy adventures."

"Life is boring enough here, Felix." The blue-eyed blonde looked at him once more, and Felix instantly averted his eyes. "I mean, you might not think so, with all the hardships we've been through, the majority being monsters." Isaac sighed. There really were no hardships that they encountered. "Sure, we've seen their friends faint and nearly die more times than we can count. We've seen others killed for doing what they believed was right. We've seen death- from farm animals, to monsters, to humans- so many times we might as well have gotten used to it."

"They're not really hardships, Isaac. Plenty more people are worse off than us. I mean, we couldn't be better off. We're rich, we're powerful, and well respected." Felix sighed. "I guess it sounds too selfish if we claim more things for ourselves. It makes you feel a bit guilty, doesn't it? People are dying out there because of our slow pace, and we're having a relatively good time, visiting villages and such." Pausing, the Venus Adept stared at the non-clearing fog. "You're right. It is a bit boring here. Especially the guilt that eats away at me."

Isaac stepped back a little, if shocked. His heart had told him such a thing before, though he couldn't put it in words as well as the adept standing right next to him had just done so. "But other than the guilt, Felix. It feels so calm, although we carry our weapons close to us, and monsters attack our ship daily. It's becoming routine, like in Vale. We'd wake up, do our chores and such, and do whatever happened to come across." He sighed, the breath coming out of him sounding exactly like what Felix did a few minutes earlier. "It's a bit deadlier now. I'm not sure if I've turned into a monster or anything. Just slashing and blowing up things these days. I'm relying way too much on luck- I mean, whenever one of our group members gets severely injured, it's a little feeling like I don't care. Well, I care for them as a friend and all, but not really for their well-being. They've pulled through so many times, so why not now?" Isaac paused, to contemplate what he had just said. "We're killing on instinct, not worrying whether or not we're harming others out there by doing so. … I… I once felt that one day, all my luck would run out on me. I mean, you lived, and everyone has pulled through so miraculously before, and it seems the dead are coming to life… but… It seems like there's a limit to all this fortune. Everyday, I mutter to myself that this would be the day where everything we worked toward comes crashing down on us, like one of our friends gets killed, or our parents really die. I guess this worrying is part of the repetitiveness of our lives."

Felix suddenly wondered how the conversation had come to such a point that Isaac was acting way too serious for the morning. "Isaac, you were saying something about the fog being so unnatural. I don't see what's so unnatural about it, other than it's part of weather." His voice sounded kind of compressed, smothered within the layers of fog and dew that surrounded him and Isaac.

"I'm not sure, Felix. It's something in the air that feels out of place. Over time, I've learned to rely on my intuition. It hasn't failed me yet, and I doubt it'll fail me now. When we were all on the deck last night, the air was so clear. There was no sign of clouds, or such a mist that would come our way. I'm pretty sure that there was no wind, so there could be nothing that actually would cause such a rapid fog. Unless you got us dearly out of course and landed us in Lemuria, I don't know what else it could possibly be." Isaac swatted the air, almost playfully. "The air's so thick today. There are clouds overhead, and it seems like such a stormy day." Isaac closed his eyes, trying to remember the weather of the previous day. Felix marveled at the young leader for that matter- Isaac had a brilliant memory. "It was such a clear night. I don't think Ivan said anything about any significant weather coming- he should know."

Felix had no time to wonder over weather problems as of the moment. He felt a slight disturbance in the body of water they were in. Another ship had entered within a two-kilometer distance of them- nothing major. Felix's senses were always triggered when someone was nearby. "Feel that, Isaac? Some ship's around us."

"Well, there's something new." Isaac answered. He felt the ship's presence too. Isaac tried calling upon his magic, to extend his vision to pinpoint the exact location of the ship. If the ship was close, then they'd be having as much trouble as they were to get through the fog.

The psyenergy didn't come.

Isaac tried over and over again, until he grew annoyed. His psyenergy felt separate from him in many ways. There were a few ways that he hadn't experienced before, although the sensation as a whole felt familiar. It was those times when he ran out of psyenergy. "That's odd. I felt my psyenergy fine when I as in the cabin… And I feel so strained now…Separated from something that's part of me." Isaac paled, realization coming to him. "You wanted something new, didn't you?" Isaac asked, his voice calm despite his expression.

Felix looked at him oddly, then decided to check his psyenergy himself. He expected a little orb to form at his hand- the most simple psyenergy trick there was.

Nothing came. Felix's eyes widened as he experienced the same as Isaac.

"Be careful what you wish for. You just might get it," Isaac murmured, quoting a saying that had been used over and over again in Vale. "We're in trouble, aren't we?" Felix and Isaac met eyes again, the second time this morning. One glance at Felix's eyes made it clear that they were in trouble.

"Damn."

Well, that was a rather uneventful beginning. I'm sorry, and I apologize to the readers if they were looking for something more eventful- I believe that it will be a bit more exciting later on in the fic. I hope this will be updated a bit quicker than the other fics I have carelessly, accidentally cough abandoned.

I'm still arguing over who should die. Please review, and happy late New Year's!

Mayara

Edit, four months later: I finally got around to editing this. I think you'll see that the grammar problems aren't so glaring anymore, and I added a few phrases here and there. Rest assured, I'll continue… before my birthday. That means, expect Chapter 3 soon!


	2. Ponderings

Hello again! I intend for this to be updated sooner than the rest of the fics, becoming the first fic to have two chapters in it since… Um… A disastrous Pokemon fic, which was last updated in March and then taken down. ;;

Now, I must admit, as I glance at the reviews, it's becoming a little war over which pairing I should do. I respect your opinions and likes, although one must remember that I'm not forcing you to read this. The only reason I would intend to do such pairings would be on my own will, because it'd make the story a little happier, sadder, etc. I appreciate the people who reviewed giving their opinions, but I was rather surprised at how many people actually _looked_ at the reviews and made a response. Clearly nothing I said could have triggered such. I mean no offense by these statements, just to clarify and misunderstandings and probably create new ones.

* * *

Jenna was awake, staring absently at the ceiling. There was nothing too exciting about it- simply lines running here and there. However annoying it might be to stare at such a contraption, it helped pass the time.

The female Mars Adept of the group felt rather content of the moment. Warmly under the covers, under the main deck of the ship, she felt comfortable. Such comfort was a kind rarely attained anywhere else, and she found it rather pleasurable. After all, she had experienced harsher conditions than a gently rocking boat- the majority involved being outside in the cold. Even though the curtain of stars that hung above her when she slept outdoors was inviting, the ceiling of blankness seemed much more appealing.

The bed proved a snare for others, too. It usually was involved in causing Jenna to be rather crabby as the day dragged on. Sooner or later, Mia, Jenna, Sheba, or Felix would come and drag her out of bed, whether she liked it or not. Such an action led her being quite cranky later on in the day, especially towards whoever woke her up.

As a person left the cabin, opening the door, an uneasy feeling suddenly swept over her. It was a kind of churning feeling in one's stomach, where one was tense all of the sudden. Something felt wrong, and misplaced. The air that rushed in seemed polluted, enhanced with things that didn't belong. Surely somebody else had noticed the problem. Isaac just left Picard's cabin, not bothering to shut the door silently as he slipped onto the deck. The door's sounds echoes throughout the cabin, soon fading in the presence of thick blankets, among other sound absorbers. Jenna grumbled something about boys being rash fools, and turned on the bed. The uneasy feeling was gone, as soon as it had came.

It felt strange being in such a large group again. The last large group Jenna was in involved Isaac chasing them. Jenna felt a soft pang in her heart as she thought of the dishwater blonde haired Venus Adept. She suspected that such a reunion would be more romantic of sorts, until she realized who Isaac was in company of. Garet seemed to be the one to ruin such reunions, and Ivan seemed to ruin it by just being there. The Jupiter Adept was so oddly calm in rough situations, that she was reminded instantly of Alex. But the biggest thing that made her heart flip in disgust was the fact that Mia was there. She was a pretty girl, with soft eyes and a caring demeanor. Isaac often gave her looks that he once gave Jenna, a yearning look filled with desire. Jenna had denied his looks, telling him to wait, but it appeared she had waited too long.

Sheba had once asked if Jenna and Isaac were an 'item'. Although she told Sheba to shut up, inside she was really wondering the truth in her statement. She liked him in Vale, and such a like grew into a want as they were separated. It tore her heart in two to know that they were classified as enemies, to put it plainly. Now that they were back again, she wanted to be with Isaac, though not exactly as an item. Well, that could come later, but she just wanted them to be friends for the current. Isaac made some signals of the same desire here and there, although his attention was turned to the attractive Mercury Adept.

Jenna heard the door open once more, and Isaac muttering about the cold. Indeed, a chill draft had entered the room as he opened the door, along with the bad feelings that she experienced once before. 'Probably just the cold,' she told herself. She really never liked the cold, even if she was a Mars Adept, wielder of the flame. It seemed rather foreign to her. The Venus Adept didn't bother to shut the door completely as went to retrieve some warmer clothing.

Ivan and Isaac slept in the next room. Isaac, as he entered, yelled "Good Morning!" in an annoyingly cheerful mood. His tone was adjusted to wake everybody in the cabin up- a job that Jenna's impatient brother usually did. Felix had woke them up so often that as Isaac aroused them, she was forced to remember with distaste that Isaac was quite an early bird. "It's rather cold outside, so be sure to wear some warm clothing!" Suddenly quite annoyed while the butterflies in her stomach still fluttered, she muttered a few words that she doubted her parents would approve of. In fact, they certainly wouldn't approve of them.

Apparently Ivan had just woken up to the voice of an overly cheerful Earth Adept. A loud thunk was heard as the Jupiter Adept toppled out of bed, stating the words that Jenna had muttered a moment ago, only louder. Jenna smiled to herself amusedly. Even calm people had their moments of oddness.

"Isaac, you're letting the cold in." Ivan said in an overly exaggerated tone. "We know that you might be up and ready for the day, but for the others, it's only the break of day and we like our sleep."

Amongst all the commotion, everybody was waking up. One could always tell when Garet woke up- his snores ceased. Jenna was ceaselessly amused at the fact that Picard, Garet's roommate, could actually sleep with such noise. When asked about it, the Lemurian shrugged and said it was something to focus on. Apparently, life in Lemuria is very dull if Picard considered sleeping through Garet's snoring 'something to do'.

Sheba, who slept in the same room as Jenna but the Mars Adept avidly ignored, was waking up little by little. "What's all the commotion about?" She muttered sleepily, trying to get back to sleep. For a Jupiter Adept, she was quite the opposite of a light sleeper.

"Nothing. Just another day," Jenna said, wide awake now. Mustering all the will she could find, she dragged herself out from under the covers. Cold swept around her, even though she was still half way buried under the cave formed as she left the blankets. Rummaging through a little trunk at the foot of her bed, she donned some light clothing, despite being warned that it was cold outside and experiencing it herself. "Do you notice how repetitive these days are, Sheba?" She asked the question absently, her mind wandering around different topics.

Sheba's reply involved a lot of slight grumbling, as she turned away from Jenna. Apparently, someone here did value sleep. The Jupiter Adept groaned some more as Jenna stumbled tiredly through their room. "Please, Jenna. I'm trying to sleep." The Mars Adept was fumbling with her boots, trying to pull them on. One of the boots dropped, making enough noise to awaken anyone who still slept through Isaac's yell.

By the time Jenna got dressed, Sheba was up and very crabby. Her blonde hair was in strands everywhere across her face, and she looked like she was out for blood. Jenna, rolling her eyes, gained her usual composure walked out of the room.

As she walked into the dining room, she saw that Isaac was already there, about to walk out. He was bundled in so many layers of clothing that it made him look like he had gained 20 pounds overnight. Such a feat seemed impossible for the slim blonde, although the layers of clothing made it look so. Despite seeing that quite alarming sight, Jenna was pulled back into thought, namely about her love life.

Isaac looked up the moment he felt someone's presence in the room. He dearly hoped it wouldn't be a person that would yell at him for waking everybody up. Seeing it was Jenna, Isaac sighed. Loudly. Out of all the people to wake up first, it had to be Jenna. No doubt she was already out for blood for waking them up when not necessary. He started to stare at the Mars Adept, watching amusedly and wondering when she would snap out of musing and recognize him.

Jenna, by that time, had trodden on Isaac's feet. Looking up, Jenna jumped back in surprise. For a split second, Jenna was left wondering whether her thoughts on her love life come true. There Isaac was, same as her thoughts, although bundled up in too much clothing. And they were so close, heat was emanating from the both of them… "Oh!" She exclaimed, stepping away slightly from Isaac. The Venus Adept had been staring at her as she looked at him, his glance still unwavering.

"Good morning, Jenna," Isaac said rather seriously, although amusement shined in his eyes. "I do hope whatever you were thinking about is worth more than my poor, trodden on feet." His fingers unconsciously played around his sword hilt- an action that made others feel quite uneasy around him. Although his eyes were kind, the piercing stare made people stay away, and his moody attitude kept group members away. Such attributes he had made people loathe him yet admire him at the same time, which was an admirable trait within itself. Jenna couldn't blame him for being popular amongst the female population- he was so perfect, in many ways.

"Sorry." She responded rather brusquely, angry with herself. "I didn't see your Majesty standing there." Although the Mars Adept had stepped away, the movement had been rather small, leaving the two in a still remaining uncomfortable position.

Isaac was now the one to step away, lessening the uncomfortable closeness of the two. "Things are different now, Jenna." He said, his face lacking any emotion. The way the Venus Adept said it made it more of a statement than a question. The inner Jenna sighed, wondering if she'd ever get the chance to get close to him again. Perhaps she should just tell him of her feelings…

"Indeed." Jenna's voice was shaky, as though she was forcing the words out with all her will. "Indeed, Isaac. I'm not sure what happened. But I don't think things will ever be the same."

"Oh? Well, that's a pity," he commented in a tone that was impossible to tell whether he was being sarcastic or not. "But I agree that things aren't the same. Many things…" Isaac's tone drifted off, leaving Jenna a period of time to look into his eyes.

_'Your eyes seem so far away, Isaac…'_ Jenna thought to herself miserably. It was the last statement that made her refrain from spilling out all her emotions. No doubt Mia was on his mind again, and if Jenna were to speak of love, she would only be shot down on the point.

Snapping out of his thoughts, Isaac regained his matter-of-fact tone. "If you don't mind, could you wake up the others for me? I have an uneasy feeling about this day, and want to meet up with Felix as soon as possible. Oh, and it is quite cold outside," he added unnecessarily. They were standing right by the door, and Jenna was feeling the chill in first person. Eyeing her outfit, Isaac sighed. "Put on some clothes, while you're at it. Although you might feel like it, you're not invincible when it comes to weather." Jenna rolled her eyes. She had never liked the adult Isaac that criticized everything people did wrong. She started to walk away, but she felt that the Venus Adept had a bit more to say. "Oh, and Jenna?"

"What do you want this time?"

Isaac walked up to her. "Nothing too much." Resting his arm on her shoulder, he gently kissed her on the cheek. "That's for good luck. My nerves are humming out of control. Something tells me we'll need all the luck we can get."

Looking wide-eyed at the Venus Adept who was briskly walking out the door, Jenna felt her hand rub the spot where Isaac's lips met her skin. "For good luck…" She refused to think any more about it, forcing her mind to focus on other things to do during the day. Shaking her head, she went to don a sweater and wake up the people who still were asleep.

_'He's had practice,'_ She thought wryly as she walked back into the room. _'I can only guess with who.'_

* * *

Okay, that's over with. I'd plan to post up sooner, though I got… delayed. By my own laziness, so I have nobody to blame. Thanks to my reviewers, and Kitty for giving me ideas of the later chapters. I'll drop a few hints here and there if you want to know what will happen next. Please review!

Mayara

EDIT: I'm so proud of myself!!!! I actually finished editing!! Expect to see an update this weekend! Unless, I get swamped with homework. Very likely, actually…


End file.
